Namibia's drop no surprise

News that Ghana has now deposed Namibia as number one in Africa when it comes to press freedom did not come as a surprise. For many years, Namibia has earned the tag as the freest press on the continent, while it also enjoyed a top 30 ranking in the world. The latest World Press Freedom Index released by the Reporters Without Borders shows that Namibia has dropped two places to 26 in the world rankings, while in Africa, the country is now second after Ghana. There is every reason to believe that Namibia does not even, in the first place, deserve to top the continental charts. While it is true that government has made a commitment to promote transparency and ultimately empower citizens through the yet-to-be-enacted access to information legislation, journalists still face severe challenges. The Reporters Without Borders report made it clear why Namibia dropped slightly in the latest index. “Namibia's constitution guarantees free speech and protects journalists, but the lack of a freedom of information law continues to obstruct their work.” A case in point is the High Court matter in which the Namibia Central Intelligence Service is seeking a court interdict against the local weekly, The Patriot, from publishing information pertaining to properties acquired by the spy agency at an alleged cost of over N$60 million. The NCIS claimed that the publication of this report would contravene the 1982 Protection of Information Act and threaten or jeopardise national security. It goes without saying that although there are those officials in government who are committed to openness and the sharing of information, some are using different methods to muzzle the media, especially when they fear the information to be published has the potential of embarrassing them. Access to information is not the only problem. The authorities have also been criticised for doing little in promoting a pluralistic and diverse media as agreed upon by African journalists during the now famous Windhoek Declaration of 1991. All stakeholders must realise that a free and safe media environment is essential for our hard-won democracy and enacting the access to information law as well as bringing to an end the centralisation of information is critical for press freedom.